I haven’t delved into researching it, but many parents are saying there is talk of teen sex, teen masturbation, questioning of religion, etc.
I’m just wondering if it’s a good choice for my 15 year old? Genuinely curious about the book and the appropriateness of her reading it. ALL input is appreciated.
by A_Pete_2023
19 Comments
Reading is good for a 15 year old. All of the potential topics you mentioned are things a 15 year old deals with in life. Why prevent them from reading about the world they live in?
Maybe this:
https://www.oif.ala.org/the-poet-x-goes-to-court/
TL;DR
>The Coble’s main claim is that The Poet X “has the primary effect of advancing the ‘religion’ of ‘alternative beliefs,’ while being hostile toward Christianity, especially Catholicism. [It] launches a ‘frontal assault on Christian beliefs and values.’” They demanded the book be removed from the curriculum, or they would file suit.
Why not read it yourself while your teen does? Gives you a way of addressing concerns and possibly talk about hard things.
Poet X is a fantastic book. Yes, it mentions the existence of sex, sexual harassment, and the main character questions religion. These are things that teens already know about, and the book is examining how a teen handles these things.
Your 15 year old definitely knows that sex exists. There’s nothing about Poet X that would be inappropriate for a teen of that age.
It’s a gorgeous book, with some wonderful stuff about finding your own meaning and your own power. But yes, there are some themes that may make people uptight.
The main character is questioning her faith. This lead her mother to treat in some abusive ways. She’s not magically redeemed at the end, but her relationship with her mother becomes better.
There is a queer character.
There is some very mild sexual content. The MC is seeing a boy and there is some fooling around. She’s also learning to come to terms with her own body and her sexuality. Being a curvy girl who developed early, she has been told that her body is sinful just for existing, that she has to be overly sexual because of the way that she is sexualised by the people around her.
The Poet X is completely age-appropriate. I can’t speak to why the parents are boycotting it, but one can assume why.
I really can’t think of an instance where parents trying to boycott/ban a book happens because the book is the problem.
The problem is almost always parents being scared of their children being exposed to ideas they don’t like, imagine they don’t like, or are scared of themselves.
The solution is to let your child explore those ideas and then to talk with your child about them. You can (should) absolutely discuss your opinions/beliefs and how they relate to those ideas.
The solution is never to bury your head in the sand and pretend the ideas don’t exist. It doesn’t work, and your child is going to be exposed to them eventually anyway, or has already been. Hiding the ideas just makes them confusing or seen as shameful to your child.
*Poet X* by Elizabeth Acevedo is an exceptional book, but some parents are likely to object to it because it does deal with serious themes like young love and a daughter who rejects/questions her family’s religious Catholic traditions.
But it’s won numerous awards because it is a truly exceptional book. Parents who are rejecting it because of what they’ve been told about it are idiots. When I was teaching, I had an evangelical family refuse to allow their daughter to read *The Crucible* because it was “about witches”. Had they read the play? No. Idiots.
Awards *Poet X* has won:
* National Book Award
* Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
* Pura Belpré Award
* Golden Kite Award Honor Book
* Michael L. Printz Award
Honestly, I think a 15 year old can handle any of those themes. What 15 year old hasn’t thought about sex, masturbation, or questioned religion?
I read it and absolutely loved it. I’m a white woman in my 40s and had nothing close to any views or relationships in the book.
I remember thinking I would have appreciated this a lot in High School. I love me some Gatsby, but this book would have hit perfectly.
I can’t remember in detail, I’m sure there is sexuality and violence, drug use. But I really can’t recall any reason for concern.
Yes the book with the questions that your child is likely asking themselves is good for your child.
15 is old enough to read whatever they want in my opinion.
This is a wonderful book. I had it in my middle school library. It’s full of stuff teenagers are thinking about. Would you rather have your teen read about these things, knowing they’re reading it, while you’re there for him/her to talk to you, or in secret, because you disapprove? I read this when it first came out, and can’t remember specifics, but it’s very appropriate for a 15 year old. Remember, your teen will be on his or her own in just three years! An adult!
All those boycotting parents are just asking for their kids to read it. And, as a former librarian, I’m opposed to this sort of censorship.
Reading is about expanding your mind. If this introduces your kid to new concepts then good
I haven’t read it, but most of those topics are going to be a part of standard English lit classes. Those topics themselves are not inappropriate within the context of a class like that. *Catcher in the Rye; Winesburg, Ohio; Frankenstein; No Exit; Grapes of Wrath; Of Mice and Men; The Great Gatsby* and many more all contain one or more of the things you mentioned. These are normal things to find in literature, especially a lot of the “classics,” so the concern here by these parents is way overblown.
> many parents are saying there is talk of teen sex, teen masturbation, questioning of religion, etc.
Sooo… just normal things that every teen experiences as part of growing up? I’m not seeing why anyone would label this as controversial or concerning. If anything, I think it would help young people who are experiencing these things to know that they aren’t weird or evil for experiencing them, and that the fact that someone took the time to write a book that includes the issues they are also dealing with would be sort of validating and helpful in letting them know they aren’t alone.
It’s not like your average teen won’t experience/encounter these things if they aren’t exposed them in a book. All this is a normal part of growing up.
Good lord, WHAT IS SO HORRIBLE about discussions of teen sex, teen masturbation, questioning of religion, don’t parents have the sense to realize their teens talk about all that and much MUCH more explicit stuff every day of their lives?
What is the point of boycotting this? To push their kids head in the sand and pretend that life isn’t about this stuff? Because to me, that kind of banning is a sort of child abuse, putting blinders on your kid, and yet still expecting them to understand the world they live in.
Besides that, the bible itself has more explicit stuff in it than that. As Mark Twain once noted, there isn’t a boy alive who hasn’t masturbated to the Song of Solomon.
Honestly, the rule of thumb of “book banning” is that the book is never actually the problem , it’s always the case of “this book has discussions that puritan Christian’s disagree with , so it’s bad”. A 15yr. old reading a book that has topics of questioning religion and sex is much more beneficial than harmful.
Only you will know what you find reasonable/unreasonable for your 15yo. I’d suggest reading it yourself and making a determination rather than asking people online who don’t know your child and will come with their own values/reasoning